The present invention relates to motor selection for customer specified applications. The invention finds particular application in a software implemented motor selection device and method allowing for selection of modified and custom built motors which take into account effects user defined inputted operating requirements have on motor characteristics, and will be described with particular reference thereto.
Traditionally, motor selection is accomplished through the use of a printed catalog which lists a range of motors along with their basic operating ranges. A user reviews the catalog and selects a motor having operational capabilities which most closely match the requirements.
Recently, software programs have been developed that allow a user to make a selection from a software implemented catalog. Motors are selected in a similar manner to that of the hard copy catalog, where desired operational capabilities such as horsepower or operation speed are input, and the software works to select a motor closest to the desired requirements. In such a system all data for the motor design exists in a pre-existing database.
When the user wishes to select a motor to operate under specific conditions or for a specific application, which may not be precisely described in the catalog, the software will either not be able to locate that motor or is required to select a less than optimal product. Further, existing catalog type motor selection provides no procedure which adjusts selection due to the inter-relationships between different operational requirements or conditions.
Therefore, existing catalog selection programs have significant shortcomings. To address these shortcomings, it is necessary to take into account the effects operating requirements and environment will have on the operation of the motor. Presently, obtaining proper motor configuration, especially for modified or customized motors, is accomplished manually, i.e. a person reviews the operating requirements, compares these to charts showing operating characteristics of specific motors and a motor sized to address the need is selected. For such situations, it is necessary for the person configuring the motor to have a complete understanding of motor characteristics and how real world applications will affect operation. Such a person needs to be highly trained and have a detailed understanding of motors. When a customer has such requirements the salesperson dealing with the customer may not have the required expertise, and it becomes necessary to bring an engineer or other trained person into the selection process.
Once the engineer has obtained the information regarding the operating requirements and environment of operation, a variety of charts, graphs and calculations are used to derive the appropriate configuration. This is an involved process which needs to take into consideration numerous options. For example, in a particular application a customer may be willing to increase the module size of the motor in order to decrease the size of the inverter supplying the motor. Conversely, the customer may be willing to increase the inverter rating to maintain the motor at a particular size.
Therefore, the use of software based catalog systems is not effective since it does not provide a procedure to take into account external environmental consideration and operational requirements in assisting in the selection process. The alternative of manually determining an appropriate configuration is less than desirable, due to its complexity and requirement of using a highly skilled worker, who is thereby taken away from some other task. Additionally, it will take an extended time for the customer to receive his answer, i.e. the quote to the customer cannot be given in substantially "real time".
The present invention contemplates a new and improved motor configuration/selection device and method which automatically assists in motor configuration/selection, especially for specialized or customized motors, by taking into consideration the operating characteristics of the motor, as well as inter-relationships of environmental, operational, and user imposed limitations. The system is designed such that users having little understanding of motor construction can provide the desired inputs and receive an output for specialized or customized motor applications, thereby freeing the resources of a highly skilled engineer for other projects and providing answers to customer questions in a rapid substantially real time fashion.